Somerville man found guilty in Central Square alley rape

A Somerville man was sentenced to 10 years in state prison for raping a New Year’s Eve reveler in a Central Square alley last year.

Erin Smith and Matt Dunning

A Somerville man was sentenced to 10 years in state prison for raping a New Year’s Eve reveler in a Central Square alley last year.

Judge Wendie Gershengorn also sentenced Zelalem Mezgebu, 22, of Somerville to five years probation Thursday. A jury found Mezgebu guilty of two counts of aggravated rape, one count of indecent assault and battery and one count of armed robbery April 14.

The 25-year-old victim left a Mass. Ave. club where he spent New Year’s Eve with friends and headed to Hi-Fi Pizza, which was closed, in the early morning hours of Jan. 1, 2007, according to the Middlesex County District Attorney's office.

When the man went to an ATM to withdraw money for a cab ride home, Mezgebu backed him against a wall and forced him down a back alley at knifepoint. Mezgebu forced the victim to remove his pants, raped the victim multiple times, brutally beat and kicked the victim until he was bloody and demanded his money, according to the DA's office.

“This defendant sought out a smaller, weaker, complete stranger to violently assault and rob at knifepoint,” said Middlesex County District Attorney Gerry Leone in a statement. “The victim has our utmost respect for standing up and testifying against his attacker, and today’s sentence reflects the extreme violence of the assault that he suffered.”

Leone also commended three employees at the Phoenix Landing bar — which prosecutors say borders the alley — for hearing the victim’s screams for help and rushing to his aid.

Prosecutors said the employees ran into the alley and were able to restrain Mezgebu until police arrived, according to the DA’s office.

The rape wasn’t the first time an act of brutality occurred in Central Square. On March 28, 2006, Elysee Bresilla of Roslindale allegedly shot a 22-year-old Somerville resident outside the Phoenix Landing.